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Sheriff and HR ask for more dispatchers, an IT director and structured pay plan after staff analysis
Summary
The sheriff requested two additional communications officers and an IT director to support 24/7 public‑safety technology; HR presented a compensation and health‑insurance analysis recommending a step pay plan and continued health‑plan benchmarking to improve recruitment and retention.
Sheriff's Office leadership told the board that growing call volumes and technology needs require immediate staffing and systems support: two additional communications officers in the near term, an IT director embedded with public safety, and continued investment in CAD/RMS and radio infrastructure.
“We try to keep three dispatchers in that center; my goal is to get it up where we have five, maybe six,” the Sheriff said, describing daily call volumes and how emergency medical dispatchers now stay on the phone to coach callers through CPR, bleeding control and other time‑sensitive interventions.
The Sheriff and his IT lead described unique, 24/7 operational requirements for public‑safety systems and asked that an IT director with public‑safety experience be resourced to maintain core applications — vehicle and body cameras, CAD, mobile data terminals and the recording system.
Cliff Heller, the county’s HR director, presented comparative compensation data and health‑plan analysis across nearby counties and school divisions. Heller recommended a transparent step pay scale (minimum—midpoint—maximum) tied to career progression and suggested the board consider total compensation (salary plus benefits, retirement and training) when assessing competitiveness. The presentation showed Goochland is competitive on some family health‑plan designs but falls short for some technical and environmental roles in midpoint comparisons.
Board members asked staff to return with staffing cost estimates, performance statistics and a plan for phased implementation that aligns with revenue scenarios.
